Religious education review ordered

Religious education review ordered

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta

President Megawati Soekarnoputri has instructed the Ministry
of Religious Affairs to review the teaching of religion in
schools, saying that in some cases it has encouraged militancy
among the students.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the national meeting of
the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the President said religious
instruction should be carefully monitored as in the end it would
threaten national unity.

"We have to ensure that the teachings we provide will not
produce new believers that would go to any lengths to defend
their religion," the President said.

Megawati did not identify specific schools, but Muslim
religious leaders have said that several convicted terrorists
were graduates of pesantren (Islamic boarding schools). Some
bombers, including those responsible for the bombing in Bali and
Jakarta's JW Marriott Hotel, are graduates of Ngruki boarding
school in Central Java. Although Indonesia has a clear policy
against terrorism, it has done little to examine the curriculum
of such boarding schools.

This is for the first time Megawati has addressed the issue of
militancy in the world's most populous Muslim country, although
her administration has been tough on terrorist groups.

"The militancy encouraged by certain teachings had propounded
the idea of eliminating those with different beliefs," the
President said.

She said that the Ministry of Religious Affairs should
immediately look into the issue.

Minister of Religious Affairs Said Agil Al-Munawar agreed with
the President saying that the presence of radical boarding
schools in the country should be carefully watched.

However, he said that these group did not have traditional
roots and were mostly formed through outside influence.

"Our people remain known as tolerant and moderate people. This
is because there are too many outside influences on these
schools," he remarked.

Megawati said that the schools should make sure that the
students understood the real value of religion and ethics through
education.

"We all see how religious teachings have nurtured fanaticism
-- although not all. It also has nurtured hostility toward those
who do not share the same beliefs," Megawati said.

She warned this would strain tolerance among the Indonesian
people and ultimately threaten national unity.

"The teaching of religion in schools should be reviewed and
thoroughly assessed," she asserted.

Religious teaching is compulsory in Indonesia from elementary
schools to university, and boarding schools that focus on
religious doctrine are also common.

However, the recent string of terrorist attacks by Muslim
militants, who are graduates of Islamic boarding schools have
revealed they bitter truth that religious teachings can be
dangerous.

Religious fanaticism has also provoked prolonged sectarian
clashes in some parts of the country in recent years.